


Stressed Out

by Destux



Series: Inseparable [2]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hinanami Week, Stress, gets a little angsty, takes place in canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-15 23:16:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18509071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Destux/pseuds/Destux
Summary: Day 5: RelaxationWhat if one day, he suddenly stopped coming and you didn’t know why?As a friend, what would you do?





	Stressed Out

**Author's Note:**

> That summary though HAHA! It’s possible I’m guilt-tripping someone that may or may not exist with those questions. 
> 
> I was so excited to post this that I couldn’t wait for the message in Tumblr that Day 5 has now started. For this entry, since I have almost no sense of imagination (Wow, and I call myself a writer. Ironic, right?), I decided to insert a little backstory of my life in this. I’ll keep the specifics to myself but it’s up to you to assume which character I used to portray a glimpse into my life.
> 
> I know for certain, if my friend still continues to read my posts, that they know exactly who it is.

This was the first time she arrived two hours earlier than him, and she thought that she was already late to their gaming session. She was disappointed, to say the least, but hey…maybe he’s just busy? He’s always busy…

…Especially these past few days. His focus seemed all over the place and playing games with him did not seem…as much fun as it used to. 

But still, he would always come. She doesn’t hold it against him if he’s late, she’s just glad that he’s there with her. 

The sun was already setting and she was getting really sleepy…

Well, there’s always tomorrow.

* * *

This was the third time he skipped their gaming sessions. Now, her focus was all over the place. She can’t even play games right anymore. She found it hard to focus if he’s always on her mind. It was strange how the only time Hajime started to mess up her focus was when he was not here. 

Getting irritated by the constant game overs on her console, she shut off the system and placed it back in her bag. She swung her legs back and forth and crossed her arms on her lap while she waited. The only building she was focusing on was the one for the Reserve Course. That’s where he went to class…right? Hmmm…

The sun was already setting and she already had a plan formed in her mind. 

It’s not that she doesn’t trust Hajime… She’s just worried. Really worried.

Well, there’s always tomorrow…

* * *

This was the seventh time…

She was getting impatient and worried, more so than ever.

Why is he not coming?

She managed to catch a glimpse of Hajime entering the building and tried to call out for him but he seemed to not hear her. She wanted to chase him and ask him what’s going on because the look on his face was…scary…

…He looked like her when she would look at herself in the mirror every morning after only an hour of a night’s rest, but much much scarier than that.

That wasn’t even the main problem. Ever since she started waiting by the entrance of the Reserve Course building when her classes ended, she did not see him exit the building at all. The only time she would see him is before classes and she knows that the dorms for the Reserve Course students aren’t inside the building. Don’t they have a curfew?

A horrible thought crossed her mind and it caused her distress to no end.

He’s trying to avoid her.

He’s purposely trying to avoid her.

No! She can’t doubt her friend like that! He…would never do that…right? Right?

He’s reasonable. She knows he’s reasonable. Him trying to avoid her without telling her the reason why just felt so…un-Hajime-like…

She stood up and gave one last look at the giant building after the last person ran by her. She’s already asked these people if they knew where he was but they were all really unhelpful and irritated by her for some reason. 

The sun was already setting and she pulled up her hood dejectedly.

She just wants to play video games with Hajime…

It’s not like she’s taking much of his time…right? It’s just a couple of hours they shared together; he never complained…

Well, there’s always tomorrow…she thinks…

But it’s about time she took matters in her own hands.

* * *

With some help from Mahiru, Peko and Ibuki, she was finally able to sneak in the Reserve Course dorms without anyone batting an eye. When she was being asked as to why she’s doing this, she replies with the same answer every time it concerned her classmates.

“…It’s for my friends…”

She donned a Reserve Course uniform, wore a white wig with wavy hair that was as long and silky as Sonia’s own, and borrowed a spare pair of glasses from Peko. Chiaki, who made quite an image in the gaming forums, would’ve been noticed for her hair and…physique. For now, she’s just a Reserve Course student who looked nothing like the Ultimate Gamer…or so she hopes.

She then dove for a nearby bush and spied for anyone entering the dorms that looked like him. This was like one of those sniper games where she had to aim her crosshair at a target to know what they were doing before pulling the trigger, so she mimicked a sniper - crouching with one leg kneeling on the ground and holding an imaginary rifle (which was a really long wooden stick she found) while aiming down at the sights with one eye closed. She completely immersed herself in the experience by calming her nerves and steadying her breath. She couldn’t risk getting spotted like this; that would be an instant game over, plus she didn’t have any checkpoints to load at!

The sun was already setting and she waited for hours and hours, still holding that sniper position and doing her darned best to not yawn and lose focus. Countless hours of nonstop gaming made this a cinch for her…

She could not give up now. Who knows when she’ll get another opportunity like this again?! Or worse, what if this was her last chance and if she screwed this up, she’ll lose Hajime forever?!

Using that as motivation, she was determined to do this, even if it meant that she had to break curfew or disobey Chisa. If she had to pick between following orders or making sure her friends were ok, she would always go for the latter no matter the cost. Well, that would be the most obvious choice, right?. She was grateful for having her friends be her second outlet for issues aside from gaming and she’d be damned if her *occasional* truancy made them think that she didn’t care for them and their problems at all. She _does_ care for them and is willing to go through extremes to show it to them. 

Her eyes spotted a figure that was slowly approaching one of the doors. Even when they were under shade, she could not mistake that spike on their head. It was him. She had to make sure she wasn’t just imagining things so she shook her head and looked at the figure once more. It was him. It really was him…!

However, she held herself back and continued to observe him. If she rushed out now, he might become alert and attack her in self-defense instead since she was wearing a disguise. That would end pretty badly for the both of them. If word got out that Hajime assaulted a Main Course student, or in this case, the class representative of the 77th Class, not only would he be suspended, like how they suspended Fuyuhiko’s sister *in lieu* of expelling her when she attempted to attack Mahiru (luckily for her, she had the Kuzuryus to back her up just in case she would get punished); he might even be expelled, and she doesn’t want that to happen. She’d feel guilty for making his life harder than it already is for her selfishness.

He fished something out of his big satchel bag and began fiddling with it by the door. She could hear him faintly mutter curses to himself and the ringing of keys became louder until he finally unlocked his door and walked in. Once he closed his door, she finally made a move to advance towards his room. She looked both ways and found no one in sight. She let out a relieved sigh and slowed her pace. Upon arriving at his doorstep, she knocked thrice on the door. She took deep breaths and prepared herself to see his state up close. 

He opens the door and…

“Eh?” He looked at her as if she grew a second head.

She couldn’t find it in herself to smile at his pitiful state. He looked incredibly tired and she debated whether or not she should continue to bother him. “…Umm…”

They stared at each other in silence. Both wanted to say something but the words died in their mouth. They felt this strange sense of déjà vu. It was as if this same thing happened once, but neither knew when. 

“Can I help you…?” He asked with awkwardness following his tone.

“…Can we talk inside?”

“And why do you want to come in?”

She puffed her cheeks in frustration and tried to force herself in. “…I don’t have time for this, Hinata-kun.”

“H-Hey, watch it…! Don’t make me kick you-“

Once she was inside, she closed the door and removed her wig and glasses. She couldn’t stand another second of waiting to reveal herself to Hajime just to talk normally. Speaking of which, he stepped back furtively and tripped on his couch. She mustered up an authoritative glare and finally got to the problem. “Why were you avoiding me, Hinata-kun?”

“U-Uhhh… I-I can explain…! I swear!”

“Let me hear it then. You made me wait for you by the fountain everyday and I wanna know what’s going on with you.”

“You…waited for me?” He asked incredulously. “Oh god… I’m so sorry, Nanami… I was just so busy with assignments recently and I had to take make-up classes for failing those exams. I didn’t have any time to tell you since I had all these things on my mind…” He looked away and gritted his teeth in shame. “…Damn it…! If only I were smarter and talented…!”

Chiaki covered her mouth in shock. How could she have forgotten that Hajime didn’t have the same kind of freedom that Ultimates had?! “…No, I should be the one who’s sorry, Hinata-kun…” She sat down beside him and gave him a hug to calm him down. “I completely forgot that you still had exams and assignments unlike us. I guess I was making your life harder by asking you to play video games with me. I should have understood… I’m sorry for not being a good friend, Hinata-kun…”

Before he could respond to that, she held her hand up and snapped her fingers excitedly. “…I got it! I’ll help you then!”

He fervently shook his head at that. “No! Those are my responsibilities and I need to get them-“

“Have you looked at yourself, Hinata-kun?! You look awful! You need to lie down and relax for a while! You can’t do anything with a low stamina bar, remember?”

“But…but…”

“…This is for your own good, Hinata-kun.” She looked at his guilty face sternly.

“…”

“Please, don’t forget that I’m your friend.” She softened her look to one that pleaded to him. “You can always ask me for help. You don’t need to tackle this level solo. We can always play coop. It’s much more fun that way, right?”

His tired eyes glared ferociously at the ground. She noticed that his knuckles were turning white from clenching his hands so tightly. 

“…Hey…what’s wrong-“

“What about me then, huh?!” He instantly shifted his red-hot glare towards her. “Are you telling me that I should just…do nothing about it and let someone better do my job?!”

“That’s not what I said, Hinata-kun.”

“Then what are you trying to say?!”

“I’m just saying that it’s ok to ask for help if you can’t handle it. There’s a reason why most boss raids have an option to invite other players, you know. That way, all players can share the rewards from defeating a hard boss.”

He groaned in frustration and hid most of his face under his two hands. She patted his back and brought out the papers from his satchel.

“…Just relax, Hinata-kun. Leave it to me for now. Look, I’ll even switch places with you in classes so you can sleep the whole day tomorrow-“

“There’s no classes tomorrow, Nanami.” he reminded her flatly.

“See? That’s even better! You can rest the whole day tomorrow while I’ll help you out with your assignments!” she smiled, trying to find hope in his dire situation.

He let out an incredibly long sigh and leaned on the back cushion. He then turned his head to smile slightly at her - it was as if he had felt sweet release from torture. “…You’re really not gonna give up, are you? Alright then,” he stood up and brought out all the papers from his bag. He smirked at her once he saw her widen her eyes at how thick those papers were. “Think you can handle this?”

She puffed her cheeks out and brought her face close to his, standing on her toes. “Bring it! I won’t back down from a challenge!”

“The reference material’s there by the way.” He thumbed his chin on the papers that she brought out initially. “You’re gonna need it.”

“Yeah yeah, I’ll figure it out.” She pushed Hajime to his bed and tucked him in. “Just sleep, ok? I’ll get this done before you even wake up!”

“Sure you are…” he chuckled before he reached over towards the bedside lamp and turned it off. “…Goodnight, Nanami.”

“Goodnight, Hinata-kun.”

She carried the papers and placed it on his desk. She cracked her fingers, popped some bones and blew through her mouth to pump herself up. 

“Time to get to work…for Hinata-kun!”

* * *

The next day, Hajime woke up, feeling more rejuvenated than he ever was these past couple of days. That was the best sleep he ever had and he felt ready to tackle all those assignments and finish them so he can focus on those exams.

He kicked the covers off of him and proceeded to do some morning exercises. After doing all that, he rushed over towards his desk and found a very cute lump of flesh resting at his chair with the papers strewn all over the desk. Ah, who was he kidding? That lump of flesh was Chiaki. He already knew that she was going to fall asleep because of doing something so mundane, like looking over at one paper then checking then looking again then checking until you know it’s the right one, repeatedly over the night. 

Still, he couldn’t help but smile at her willingness and insistence to help him. She went through all this trouble, even disguising as a Reserve Course student, to come for him and ease his burden, so there’s no way he’s not going to let that go without any merit or reward. 

He carried her over to his messy bed and tucked her in. She settled in pretty quickly and was now happily snoring, visibly relishing in whatever dream game she was playing right now. He made sure to turn off the alarm clock so she can sleep for how long she liked. He knew she was the type who hated alarm clocks, as they shared the same hatred for them. However, he trained himself to wake up without the need of such things but not her. She’d sleep for a week if no one, or nothing, woke her up. Well, that responsibility fell on him now.

Breakfast can wait, so he busied himself by checking on her progress for his ungodly amount of assignments. He skimmed through the papers and found out that her handwriting was…less than ideal. It looked so elementary, like a child doodling on the blank spaces. Even so, these answers were actually correct after looking them over in the reference material- for the most part, that is. Even at his tired state last night, he could have gotten through this with no mistakes at all due to how thorough he was, but that would be in hindsight. As she had said to him, he can’t do anything with a low stamina bar so he can’t really blame her for anything nor does he have a say in this.

He chuckled to himself before grabbing the pen and got busy correcting the mistakes and finishing what they started…together. He didn’t need to take on this solo. He had a good friend he can rely on if things got too rough. And thanks to her help, he got that thick wad of assignments done in just an hour, completely confident that there was nothing wrong in there. 

His mind drifted back to what she said to him yesterday. He couldn't imagine how sad she must have felt after being stood up for nearly two weeks. All it took was for him to just visit her once and tell her that he was busy. Work just really gets into his mind easily that he forgets about the smallest yet most important things, like playing games with his friend.

He looked back at her sleeping form and made a silent vow. He promises to spend the rest of today playing video games with Chiaki...that is, if she still wants to...

...Gah, let's face it. She'll never decline that offer.

So for now, he decides to take initiative and make breakfast for both himself and his sleeping guest.


End file.
